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A Pedagogical Guide to Suzuki Violin School, Volume 4 Using the Suzuki Method

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A Pedagogical Guide to Suzuki Violin School, Volume 4 Using the Suzuki Method A Pedagogical Guide to Suzuki Violin School, Volume 4 Using the Suzuki Method A Document Submitted to the Graduate school of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS in the Performance Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music May 2012 by Yera Lee M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2005 B.M., Kyung Hee University, 2003 Committee chair: Won-Bin Yim, DMA ABSTRACT Shinichi Suzuki established a highly influential and widely used method of musical instruction known as the Suzuki Method. Developed first for the violin, but now used for a variety of instruments, his method was based on his view that every child can be highly developed if he is given the proper training and learning environment. The Suzuki Method is based on repetition and constant review, and the volumes of music and instruction demonstrate a carefully graded approach to musical instruction. Suzuki wrote extensively about his techniques, but many of those ideas do not make it themselves into the Suzuki Violin School. Volume Four of Suzuki Violin School is the beginning of intermediate study and introduces new techniques such as shifting, positioning, and vibrato. Of all the volumes in the Suzuki Violin School, it is the most problematic, because the difficulty increases substantially over that of Volume Three, both in the pieces and in the techniques introduced. This document addresses this problem, and gives a plan for overcoming these difficulties. As such it will be beneficial for the teacher and student who use the Suzuki Method. ii Copyright © 2012 by Yera Lee All Rights Reserve iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My sincere thanks be to the almighty God for his abundant blessings and guidance on completing this document. Special thanks to Dr. Won-bin Yim, my great adviser and a kind mentor, for his outstanding teaching and various support. I also thank Dr. Pietro Millewski and Dr. Kurtmann Sassmanshaus for their great help on academic achievements during my school years. Sincere thanks to my loving family. My parents and younger sister Sara Lee supported me with prayers in Korea. Much help, support, and sweet memories in many ways from my older sister Bora Lee and bother-in-law Joseph Kim, while studying together at CCM. Lastly, I want to recognize my wonderful husband Jae Young Jang whom I met in Cincinnati. Without his endless support and warm care, and also for the love from our little angel Joy Jang, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................iv PREFACE............................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER I. BACKGROUND OF SUZUKI METHOD AND PHILOSOPHY.............. 2 CHAPTER II. VIOLIN TECHNIQUES INTRODUCED AND DEVELOPED IN SUZUKI VIOLIN SCHOOL, VOL. 4 ..................................................................10 Tonalization .............................................................................................................11 Scale practice ...........................................................................................................13 Position practice ......................................................................................................14 Shifting practice ......................................................................................................15 Vibrato .....................................................................................................................17 Double stop ..............................................................................................................17 Trill ..........................................................................................................................19 CHAPTER III. PEDAGOGICAL GUIDE TO SUZUKI VIOLIN SCHOOL, VOLUME 4 ...............................................................21 Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13, 3rd Movement by F. Seitz .............................21 Concerto No. 5 in D Major, Op. 22, 1st Movement by F. Seitz .............................32 Concerto No. 5 in D Major, Op. 22, 3rd Movement by F. Seitz .............................41 Concerto No. 6 in A Minor, Op. 3, 1st Movement by A. Vivaldi ..........................50 Concerto No. 6 in A Minor, Op. 3, 3rd Movement by A. Vivaldi ..........................61 Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV, 1043, 1st Movement, Violin II ......69 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................79 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................80 v COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Suzuki Violin School, Volume 4 Violin part Revised Edition by Dr. Shinich Suzuki © Copyright 2008 by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. Reprinted by Permission. vi PREFACE Shinich Suzuki (1898-1998) established one of the most internationally recognized and influential methods for musical education. Based on years of private teaching in his native Japan, Suzuki codified his method in the Suzuki Violin School, first published in 1978. The popularity of this method grew quickly and it is now taught in over forty countries. The Suzuki Association exists to maintain teaching standards as well as to update the method from time to time. Volume four of the Suzuki Violin School marks the beginning of intermediate studies within the method. In this volume, students begin to study new techniques such as vibrato, shifting, and positioning. Although, these techniques will be continually developed throughout the student’s violin education, the ground-work must be carefully learned in this volume. The problem is, volume four is substantially more difficult than volume three in a way that can be detrimentally frustrating for many students. Every piece in this volume is a concerto movement, containing complex and tricky rhythms as well as difficult violin techniques such as harmonics, double stops, multiple stops, and frequent key changes. This document is designed to provide a sufficient guide for the introduction of techniques mainly drawing from Suzuki’s own methods, and smooth over abrupt changes in Suzuki’s grading. As proper preparation to learning new pieces and teaching new techniques is perhaps the most important aspect of Suzuki’s teaching methods, this study demonstrate practical approaches that should be beneficial to both student and teachers. 1 Chapter I. Background of Suzuki Method and Philosophy Shinichi Suzuki (1898–1998) established one of the most internationally recognized and influential methods for musical education. Based on years of private teaching in his native Japan, Suzuki codified his method in the Suzuki Violin School, first published in 1978. The popularity of this method grew quickly and it is now taught in over forty countries. Suzuki developed his theories initially for the instrument he himself played, the violin, but the Suzuki method now includes courses for piano, cello, flute, viola, and guitar. Although each instrument has its own repertoire, the basic teaching techniques and philosophy are the same. The Suzuki Association exists to maintain teaching standards as well as to update the method from time to time. Suzuki was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1898. His father was a famous violin maker in Japan and from a very early age, Shinichi worked for his father and learned the craft of violin making. Although he was surrounded by violins for his entire childhood, Shinichi was not allowed to play the instrument, and was instead supposed to focus on his general education. Shinichi, however, inspired by his favorite recordings, including one made by Mischa Elman, wanted to learn to play the violin. He began to teach himself at age seventeen, and according to his own account, he learned by listening to recordings and then trying to imitate what he had heard. Eventually his father changed his opinion and supported his son’s musical development. Suzuki went to Germany to study violin at age 22. He spent eight years there studying with Karl Klinger of the Berlin Conservatory. He also came under the influence of Dr. Albert Einstein, an accomplished violinist himself. It was also in Berlin, where Suzuki was exposed to a tremendous amount of musical activities including private 2 musical gatherings as well as public concerts. Evelyn Hermann argues that it was in Germany where the first seeds of what would become the basis of his method developed: Suzuki was acutely aware of his own difficulty as an adult in learning the German language, while equally amazed at the ease with which German children conversed. He began to realize that children everywhere can speak their mother tongues fluently and without failure. This realization was the seed of his life’s work––his search to discover how children might use the way they learned their mother tongues to master other difficult skills, such as playing the violin.1 In Germany, Suzuki also married a young German singer, Waltraud Prange. Suzuki returned to Japan in the 1930s and taught music at the Imperial School of Music and at the Kunitachi Music School in Tokyo. During this time, he gained experience working with children and developed many of his ideas. Already, the concept of listening was a central focus in
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